This MP3 lark
 

Right - this new fangled CD-less MP3 music thing all you young dudes are into. So I have a CD <looks at CD> and I have an imaginary (haven't bought one yet) little pod thing. How do I get the song off the CD onto the little doofer? My experiments at doing this in the past have led to the sort of quality sounds you hear in the supermarket. Also, are they all the same, apart from size and manufacturer - does it have to be made by Apple? Anything or any company to avoid? I'm thinking it would be nice to have all my CDs accessible in one go - no changing CD mid-Requiem, say.

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Use one of the many CD reading tools (or even itunes) to copy the track from the CD and save it as an MP3 fle.

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I've been putting songs onto my son's MP3 player tonight. It was easy.

First of all, ripping songs from CDs into MP3 format is legal in the USA, but not here in the UK - copyright and all that. Yes, I know it's stupid, but the law is an ass and all that.

Assuming that these are all non-copyright songs... :)

Use Windows Media Player on XP and select the RIP fucntion. You can then rip the tracks into your My Music folder. Plug your MP3 player in, right click on the track(s) and use the SEND TO option to send them to your MP3 player.

It was easy really.

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AFAIK law is that you are allowed to rip 1 copy of the track to MP3 format for personal usage.

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if you buy a pod thingy then you load the itunes software on the pc.

Put the cd thingy into the pc and it asks if you want to convert the files

Say yes

Plug the pod thingy in

it asks if you want to transfer them

Your done.

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Most people who use Ipods use a free piece of software called ITunes that lets you put in a CD into your computer, choose the tracks you want, and then press a button and it converts them to mp3.
You then transfer them to the Ipod.

Any CD program / MP3 ripping program should let you do this.
There are many around on the web.

As for getting rid of that supermarket sound, you have to observe the compression settings that you set in the program you use to transfer your CD's to mp3's.

The bigger the storage capacity on the device itself, the less compression needed and the higher the bit rate you can select to encode your tracks to mp3.
These options will probably be in the programs settings screen.
I personally wouldnt encode any Mp3's under 160kbps, favouring more the 360kbps for a good sound quality.

You certainly dont have to go for Apple. There are many out there now.
Two things I'd consider when looking are 1) battery life, and 2) Portability / features.

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You mean the Verdi? :sick:

Anyway, I've found Audiograbber to be pretty decent. Uses the free LAME encoder, full CDDB access, relatively quick.

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Paul M - you'd never make it in IT support :p: :D

There's no "rip" option in my Media Player, but I'm on ye olde Windows 98.

SMHarman - nice and simple, huh :D

Exactly - all those options though. I didn't know what to choose :spin:

Actually very good, heathen! :D Mozart and Faure are the other two requiem writers. I like them all. I'm going through a dark music phase.


Young un's today grow up with all this. Different world.

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I have to ask even though it's :notopic: but have you decided on an advanced age and are just waiting for your chronological age to catch up? Cos the only peeps I have heard talk about young un's the way you do are in their 70's. :hugs: :D

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:D I do feel old. In many ways it just seems that life is better and enriched for kids these days :shrug:

So, I buy the pod and it comes with software that lets me put the CDs on it. Do all pods have this software with them? I can see I'm just going to have to fiddle with settings and hope.

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I ain't a heathen, though I do prefer the Mozart. Currently listening to this though it didn't cost me that much... rather good.

Now I feel old.

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Verdi is a bit more brash and dramatic.

I've got this sat waiting to be listened to.

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Yeah, I prefer the slightly less dramatic, more calculated and introverted style of the earlier works... but anyway, that's off topic.

I know the Verdi, Mozart and Faure but just can't get on with the former, the other two are more introverted.

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This is why I'm thinking MP3 - can get a whole opera on, no changing CD at the dramatic bit.

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You'll get more than that- at 192 Kb/s (a decent bitrate and manageable size), a CD is about 100 MB...